Pressure cookers are well known cooking devices that allow for reduced preparation times while maintaining vitamins and minerals within the food to be cooked. Generally, a pressure cooker can include a small amount of added water and the food item to be cooked. The pressure cooker can then be sealed with a cover and placed over a heat source such as, for example, a gas or electric stove burner. The water is eventually heated to boiling wherein the steam is retained within the sealed pressure cooker. The formation and retention of the steam results in an increase to the internal pressure within the pressure cooker. Due to this increased pressure, the boiling temperature of the water increases such as, for example, to about 121° C. at 1 atmosphere. With this increased temperature, the cooking time is reduced while the surrounding steam does not leach the vitamins and minerals from the food item as can occur during traditional boiling.